50 years after Nigeria’s
then Eastern Region declared itself the Republic of Biafra, sparking a
brutal and costly three-year civil war, the country again faces a
separatist challenge. Across the Igbo south east, there is resurgent
agitation for an independent Biafra state. THE RESTORATION OF BIAFRA NATION
President Muhammadu Buhari’s forceful response to the agitation has
been counter-productive, inflaming passions and boosting separatist
sentiments. The government needs to change course and prioritise
dialogue over coercion.
The starting point of any response is to understand the agitation’s
roots. They include political and economic grievances, a deep sense of
collective victimisation among the Igbo, and the failure of south east
politicians to provide good governance and development.
[Biafra 50 years on: Remembering, regretting, repeating history?]
Roots of the agitation
Separatists contend that since the Biafra War, the Igbo, one of the
country’s three major ethnic groups, have been marginalised. They note
that no Igbo has been elected to lead the country since Nnamdi Azikiwe’s
ceremonial presidency in the 1960s or to be vice president since Alex
Ekwueme (1979 to 1983).
This persisted even under military rule. The only Igbo head of state
in this period, Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, was killed after
only seven months.
Administrative structures decreed by northern-led military
governments have also undermined the region. Of the country’s six
geo-political zones, all but the south east contain either six or seven
states. The south east has just five, while it accounts for only 96 of
Nigeria’s 774 local governments. Representation in government and the
flow of federal resources are based on these administrative units.
Today, the south east, like much of the country, suffers deficient
and dilapidated infrastructure and widespread youth unemployment. But
many believe this is structural. They point out that as federal revenue
allocation is based on number of states and local governments, the south
east receives the least of all zones.
Unequal treatment
Under Buhari, political grievances have deepened. With no Igbo
heading any of the military and security services, many argue the region
has no voice in key organs such as the National Defence Council (NDC).
“We are like second class citizens, of the same status as a colonised
people, except that this is internal colonialism, caliphate
colonialism”, asserted a retired Igbo military officer.
The situation has also been aggravated by Buhari’s statement shortly
after coming to power that “constituencies that gave me 97% cannot in
all honesty be treated, on some issues, with constituencies that gave me
5%”.
To many in the south east, who mostly voted for former president
Goodluck Jonathan, that statement raised fears that the president would
not accord them equal treatment with the north.
They now see their fears confirmed by some government actions. For
example, when the domestic intelligence agency the Department of State
Services recruited recently, it hired just 44 new employees from the
south east compared to 165 from the north west. Similarly, the south
east is nearly completely excluded from a proposed national railway
development plan.
Victims of history
Along with political and economic grievances, separatist agitation is
driven by a strong feeling of collective victimisation. In 1949, the
prominent Igbo leader Nnamdi Azikiwe asserted “it would appear that God
has specially created the Ibo people to suffer persecution and be
victimised because of their resolute will to live”.
Almost 50 years later, another distinguished Igbo, Chinua Achebe,
claimed that “Nigerians of all other ethnic groups will probably achieve
consensus on no other matter than their common resentment of the Igbo”.
These feelings have been deepened over the decades by recurrent
rioting in the north in which Igbo have suffered great losses. Mostly
notably, over 30,000 Igbo in the north were killed and two million fled
back to the south in 1966 in the “Igbo pogrom” that followed the January
coup and July counter-coup.
During the Biafra War, all other groups rallied round the federal
government. The conflict killed about two million people, mostly Igbo,
and more died during post-war riots and conflicts in the north.
Some northern leaders have argued that the Igbo were targeted because
of their entrepreneurial success not their ethnicity, but such
explanations offer no consolation. As one Igbo civil society leader
said, the current separatist agitation is “a rejection of the Nigerian
state by a group that feels already rejected by that state”.
South-eastern governance failures also fuel unrest. Local political
leaders have largely failed to harness the region’s resources, create
sustainable employment and engage youth.
As the president-general of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze,
Nnia Nwodo said, Igbo youth “have passed a vote of no confidence in us
their fathers”. The agitation therefore represents not only a protest
against the state but a rift within Igbo society.
Flawed responses
Successive government responses have been generally intolerant and
combative. The government generally lumps the separatist movement
together with Boko Haram and the militant Yoruba group the O’odua
People’s Congress (OPC) as “extremist groups” threatening national
security.
Under President Olusegun Obasanjo, the administration arrested the
leader of the Movement for Actualization of the Sovereign State of
Biafra (MASSOB), Ralph Uwazuruike, charged him with treason and detained
him from 2005 to 2007. Police clashed with MASSOB members repeatedly,
killing many.
President Buhari’s government has been similarly intolerant. In
November 2015, he issued a “serious warning” that: “The corporate
existence of Nigeria as a single entity is not a subject of debate and
will not be compromised”. On another occasion, he said: “For Nigeria to
divide now…it is better for all of us to jump into the sea and get
drowned”.
Following from this hardline stance, security agencies shut down the
unlicensed radio station, Radio Biafra, operated by the separatist group
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). They have banned pro-Biafran
newspapers, arresting and brutalising non-compliant vendors. These
measures have driven many publications off the streets, but have not
curbed the even more vigorous social media.
Security agencies have also broken up rallies and meetings, killing
and arresting scores. An Amnesty International report alleged that
security forces murdered at least 150 agitators between August 2015 and
August 2016. The army rejected the report, but separatists say the
number of deaths was even higher.
In January 2017, when agitators organised a rally in “solidarity”
with new US President Donald Trump, police reportedly killed 11
participants and arrested more than 65. Many are still in jail.
The government also arrested IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu in October 2015.
He was arraigned and granted bail, but despite court orders for his
release, he was held in prison until April 2017. Kanu’s prolonged
detention turned him into a hero and increased IPOB membership.
Outlook for the future
The agitation’s future trajectory is unclear. Much depends on the
federal government. Further repression will earn the separatists more
local sympathy and support and could push them to more desperate
actions. If there is no progress towards constitutional, administrative
and policy reforms that would respond to the demands of the south east,
the agitation could escalate.
Further demonstrations and government crackdowns could further strain
the already over-stretched security forces, diverting resources needed
to fight Boko Haram and insecurity elsewhere.
Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has counselled the government to ask
the agitators: “What are those things we can do to make you content, to
make you feel part of this entity [Nigeria]… What can we do to make them
feel that they belong and are not alienated?” The federal government
should heed that sage’s advice.
In the short term, the government should refrain from further threats
of “crushing” the agitation and free unconditionally the hundreds of
protestors currently imprisoned. It should also reassure all regions it
will allocate resources and develop infrastructure equitably.
In the longer term, the National Assembly should resume its stalled
constitution review and pass provisions that would guarantee all
citizens a stronger sense of national belonging and redress the
imbalance in administrative units between the zones. This is a key
demand of south easterners and one already endorsed by the leaders of
most other zones.
The leaders of the south east must also respond to their region’s
needs by focusing on economic development and curbing massive youth
unemployment. The south east governors’ recent initiative towards
integrated regional development is a welcome step that should be pursued
vigorously.
50 years after the south east attempted to break away, the country
remains fragile. Its democracy is still unstable, as demonstrated by the
recent coup rumours as President Buhari is reportedly very ill.
[Nigeria: Coup rumours reflect rising distrust in Buhari’s absence]
At a 25 May colloquium on Biafra: 50 years after in Abuja,
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said the greatest responsibility of
Nigerian leaders today is to give a pathway to unity in diversity. The
country’s leaders must work harder to build bridges, close cleavages,
and achieve a more cohesive country.
If they fail, separatist agitations will grow even stronger.
